


Eye Drops

by Bones (thepiesandthebees)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Daddy Cas, Daddy Dean, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Single Parents, short fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 00:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3709065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepiesandthebees/pseuds/Bones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Castiel both have kids to take care of, and they happen to meet in a grocery store.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eye Drops

“Anna, please,” Castiel begged his little sister. “Just one more thing—just one.”

The toddler scowled and clutched onto her red, floral skirt with tiny fists. “No! I wanna go now!”

Castiel sighed. He needed to get eye drops on the other side of the store, but Anna had already decided they’d done enough shopping for today and was adamant about going home. He could almost feel his contacts drying in his eyes.

“What do you need?” a deep, warm voice asked.

Castiel turned to see hazel eyes staring at him. The man was muscled, and the hands holding his small basket of groceries were calloused. A red flannel shirt hugged his chest, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Dark denim jeans hung a little too low on his hips, but that might have been due to the hands grabbing his pant leg more than a sizing error. The little boy clinging to the man had freckles over his nose that matched the man’s, as well as the same shade of brown hair. He stared up at Castiel with wary eyes.

“Excuse me?” Castiel asked, staring at the man oddly.

“I can get what you need while you check-out,” the man said. “She looks like she’s ready to scream.”

Castiel glanced down at Anna who was red-faced and impatiently bouncing on the balls of her feet. “That would help me out a lot. Thank you.”

The man smiled, deepening the crinkles around his eyes. “What do you need?”

“Eye drops. The brand I use is Zaditor.”

The man nodded. “Got it.”

When he started away, Castiel started down the aisle with his cart. Anna hopped happily beside him, pleased she’d gotten her way. The store was relatively empty, so only two check out lines were open. Castiel walked to the first line behind an elderly man. He’d no sooner put his eggs on the conveyor than the man and little boy came up behind him with an orange box of Zaditor.

“Expensive eye drops,” the man commented, handing them over.

Castiel placed them on the conveyor and continued unloading his groceries. “Nothing else seems to work.” He glanced at Anna just in time to see her try to sneak a chocolate bar onto the conveyor. “Anna, put it back.” She puckered her lips into a pout, but put the chocolate back.

“I’m Dean, by the way,” the man said. “This is my son, Ben.”

Castiel stopped unloading his groceries long enough to hold his hand out. “Castiel. The tiny gremlin over there is my little sister, Anna.”

The tiny gremlin in question stuck her tongue out at him response. Dean chuckled. “You guys must have pretty big age gap.”

Castiel finished unloading his cart. “Twenty-one years.”

“How’d your parents manage that?”

“Long story,” Castiel evaded, unwilling to talk about his parents just yet. He looked down at Ben. “How old are you?”

The boy clung onto his father’s pant leg and mumbled a soft, “Four.”

“Me, too!” said Anna excitedly. “You wanna be friends?”

He smiled slightly. “Okay.”

She hopped over to him. “Do you like snakes?”

“Snakes are cool.”

She grinned and continued to ask him random questions. Castiel let her make friends and pushed his cart to the front of the counter for the bagger. “Paper or plastic?” the cashier asked.

“Paper,” he mumbled and pulled his wallet from his pocket.

Dean put his basket on the conveyor when there was enough room. “You live around here?” he asked.

Castiel gave him a wary look.

“I’m just asking because we just moved out here, and Ben doesn’t know any other kids.”

After a moment, Castiel said, “We’re just down Whitethorne, near Raven’s Court.”

Dean’s brows furrowed in confusion. “It’s only apartments over there.”

“And?”

“Your parents, Anna, and you all live in an apartment?”

“It’s just me and Anna.” Castiel swiped his card through the machine at the cashier’s prompting.

Understanding crossed Dean’s face. Instead of asking more questions, he said, “Ben and I live around there, too. Village Blue Apartments, if you know it.”

Castiel paused in surprise before signing his name on the credit card scanner. “Locals just call it the Village. Anna and I live there, too.”

Dean’s brows rose. “Oh, cool. So would it be all right if I brought Ben over for a playdate or something some time?”

Anna jumped up. “Yeah! Playdate! I like Ben!”

Castiel glanced down at his little sister and Ben, then to Dean. “Yeah, a playdate sounds good.”

Dean smiled. “Awesome.”

The cashier handed Castiel his receipt. “Have a nice day,” she muttered blandly.

“You, too,” Castiel replied automatically.

“Did you drive or walk here?” Dean asked, as the cashier started scanning his groceries.

“I walked.”

“You wanna walk back together? That way Ben and Anna can continue...doing whatever it is they’re doing.” Dean looked down at the toddlers who were counting each other’s fingers, except neither could count higher than eight, so they started over at one whenever they reached eight.

Castiel smiled at the sight. “Sure.” He waited patiently while Dean paid for his groceries, then walked out with him. When they were outside, he put his cart back in the cart area and took his bags out.

“You were planning to carry four bags three blocks back to your apartment with a four-year-old?” Dean asked.

Castiel shrugged. “I’ve done it before.”

Dean took one of Castiel’s bags, so he carried two and Castiel three. “You should always have a hand free in case they try to run off. Toddlers are fast.”

“I find that it’s much more efficient to simply drop everything, then chase after them. Less weight to hold you down.”

“So you have tried to chase Anna carrying four bags.”

A corner of Castiel’s lips twitched. “Maybe.”

Ben and Anna started down the street, so Dean and Castiel hurried to catch up with them. They kept pace behind the toddlers who had far too much energy stored in such small bodies. “So why’d you move here?” Castiel asked, feeling he owed at least some attempt at conversation to this friendly stranger.

Dean’s lips quirked to one side, an expression Castiel found strangely endearing. “Honestly, I couldn’t afford to keep my house anymore. My ex-wife took a lot when she divorced me and ran off.”

Castiel frowned. “I’m sorry.”

Dean shrugged. “It’s my own fault. Lisa said I loved my job more than I loved her. It wasn’t true, but I didn’t spend as much time with her as I should have.”

“She give you full custody of Ben?”

“Yeah, that was unexpected. I thought she would have at least fought for him a little, but…” Dean trailed off and shook his head. “So what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a translator.”

Dean’s brows rose. “A translator?”

Castiel nodded. “I translate technical and creative works for companies and publishing houses into English, Russian, Spanish, and Mandarin.”

“Where’d you learn so many languages?”

“My parents traveled a lot. I used to speak nine languages fluently. Now, I’m fluent in only five.”

“‘Only five,” Dean repeated in amusement. “That’s a cool job.”

“Well, what about you? You look like you do something with your hands.”

Dean glanced down at the hands in question. “Oh, I’m an engineer, but sometimes I work on cars at my uncle’s place on the weekend. I come from a family of mechanics.”

“Really?” Castiel thought of the old pimpmobile his grandfather had given him before college. The gold 1978 Lincoln hadn’t run properly since Castiel had gotten it, which was why he avoided driving as much as he could.

“I can take a look at it,” Dean said.

Castiel gave him an odd look. “What?”

“I can take a look at whatever car you were just thinking of.”

Castiel’s face heated. He hadn’t wanted to make such a presumptuous request of a stranger, but apparently, he hadn’t had to. “Thanks.”

Dean smiled in amusement. “Sure thing.”

They continued chatting the entire three blocks to the apartment complex. Castiel hadn’t bothered to make friends in a long time, but Dean was so easy to talk to. And he wasn’t bad to look at either. In fact, he was one of the most attractive men Castiel had ever encountered. Not that Castiel was thinking about that. Dean was obviously not gay if he’d had a wife, and besides, Anna didn’t need a complication in her life like her only guardian getting a boyfriend.

Castiel’s apartment was closer to the entrance than Dean’s. He unlocked his door and let Anna run inside. “What are you doing Saturday?” Dean asked when Castiel took his grocery bag from him.

“Probably working on a translation of a Chinese novel,” Castiel said, “but if you want to bring Ben over for a playdate around noon, I can pull myself away from tedious literature.”

Dean offered a wide smile that lit up his entire face. “Perfect. See you then.”

“See you.”

“Bye, Ben!” Anna shouted from inside.

“Bye, Anna!” Ben shouted back.

Castiel stepped inside his apartment and closed the door after himself, smiling involuntarily.

#

Seven playdates and two dinners later, Dean still knew little to nothing about Castiel’s history. Whenever the topic of his parents came up, Castiel just said it was a “long story” and changed the subject. Ben and Anna were the best of friends and now attended the same daycare at Castiel’s recommendation. Yet no matter how much the little ones bonded, Castiel always kept a little distance. It was just enough that Dean never felt as if he were being avoided, but far enough that he didn’t feel comfortable prying.

On the eighth playdate, Ben and Anna fell asleep together on Dean’s beige carpet in the living room. They’d curled up next to each other, dolls still clutched in their hands. Castiel had let them fall asleep, knowing Anna had gotten up earlier than usual and Ben had burned himself out trying to keep up with her burst of energy that had no doubt been the result of sleep-deprivation.

Dean walked in with two cups of coffee and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch where Castiel sat. “I should get her home,” Castiel said and pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Well, at least finish your coffee,” Dean insisted. “She can sleep on my bed until you guys need to take off.”

Castiel nodded. “All right.” He walked around the coffee table and scooped up his little sister. Dean picked up Ben, and they walked through a door on the right that led to the master bedroom. Castiel laid Anna out atop the blue comforter. Dean placed Ben on the other side of the bed. When they were sure the kids weren’t going to wake up from being moved, they tiptoed out and returned to the couch to drink their coffee.

“Doesn’t Ben have his own room?” Castiel asked, sipping his black coffee.

“Yeah, but he refuses to sleep in it.” Dean stared sadly into the dark liquid in his mug. “He misses his mother. More often than not, he climbs into my bed in the middle of the night expecting to find her there.”

Castiel reached across the couch and squeezed Dean’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“I just don’t understand why she would leave like that.” Dean shook his head. “I imagine it’s harder for Anna.”

Castiel suddenly dropped his hand and looked down at his coffee. “Not really. I’m the only parent she’s known.”

Dean knew this was the point where he should have dropped the topic, but after two months of evasive answers, he was dying to know. “What happened to your parents?”

Castiel didn’t reply, and for a moment, Dean thought he wouldn’t say anything. But then he mumbled, “My mother died in labor with Anna. She was over forty at the time, so we expected complications, but...we didn’t know it would be that bad. Afterward, my dad just...stopped. He wouldn’t eat or sleep. He was just so depressed without her. So I took care of Anna while he got treatment for himself.” The steam from the coffee began to fog Castiel’s glasses, so he put the cup down. “Not two months after Anna was born, he just disappeared. Left me a note saying he wanted me to take care Anna and not to look for him. And that’s what I did.”

Dean didn’t know what to say, so he set his coffee down, wrapped an arm around Castiel’s shoulders, and pulled him closer. Castiel stiffened initially, but relaxed into Dean after a moment. “I’m sorry, man,” Dean mumbled.

Castiel rested his on Dean’s shoulder. “I’ve made my peace with it. I just wish he’d told me where he went.”

Dean turned his head to look at Castiel. His lips grazed a mess of brown hair. Castiel stared down at the floor with sad, blue eyes. The glasses sitting on his nose reflected his irises. And Dean didn’t know what to do after noticing all those little details. He didn’t know what to think about the warmth of Castiel’s head on his shoulder or the sound of his soft breathing.

As if of its own volition, Dean’s hand slid the short distance across the couch to Castiel’s hand. If Castiel was surprised by the contact, he didn’t show it. “You’re really good with Anna,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

“You’re really good with Ben,” Dean replied with the same volume.

“No, you don’t understand.” Castiel sat up to look at Dean squarely. “I trust you with Anna.”

Dean nodded slowly, going with his gut instinct and terrified about it all the same. “No, I understand.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of Castiel’s hand. “I trust you with Ben, and I haven’t found someone like that...ever.”

Castiel stared at Dean, searching his hazel eyes. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, then Dean muttered, “Ah, hell.” He leaned forward and brought their lips together. Castiel went rigid, and Dean thought he’d made a horrible mistake. But then Castiel had his hands in Dean’s hair, gently urging him closer. Dean deepened the kiss, every fiber of his being humming with an overwhelming sense of _right_. When Castiel pulled away, it was to whisper, “I need to thank Anna.”

Dean arched a brow. “For what?”

“For almost throwing a tantrum in the grocery store that day.” Castiel’s cupped Dean’s jaw. “You wouldn’t have offered to get my eye drops otherwise. We might have never met.”

Dean smiled. “That’s true.” He kissed Castiel again briefly, then mumbled against his lips, “Remind me to thank her, too.”

Castiel took off his glasses and set them on the table. “Gladly.”


End file.
